Vanessa Caro puts up a shot for the Lady Saints against Butler Saturday. Courtesy photo

By IAN APPLEGATE

Seward sports information director

The No. 13 Seward County Lady Saints pulled out a 74-53 victory against the Butler Grizzlies Saturday on the backs of Lexi Hernandez and Mollie Mounsey, both of whom hit six three-pointers. The win pushed the Lady Saints win streak to 10.

The first quarter didn't start as planned for the Lady Saints, going down 10-2 with 4:15 to play. Valerie Caro connected on a four-point play to cut the lead to four, but two straight baskets for the Grizzlies pushed the lead back to eight.

Back-to-back threes by Mollie Mounsey and Chelsea Lazenby on the ensuing possessions cut the lead to two. The next possession, Vilma Covane used a post move to tie the game at 14. The game would stay tied for the remainder of the first quarter.

Seward (17-2, 13-2) exploded offensively in the second quarter, scoring It took just two minutes into the second quarter for the Lady Saints to take their first lead of the game with a corner three from Silvia Veloso. The three started a 10-0 run by the Lady Saints, giving them a 26-17 lead with 6:38 to play in the quarter. Nine straight points by Mounsey to end the quarter gave the lady Saints a 41-24 halftime lead.

The Lady Saints shot 56.0 percent (14 of 25) from the floor and 44.4 percent (8 of 18) from behind the arc in the first half. Seward held the Grizzlies to just 27.6 percent (8 of 29) from the field and kept them without a three-pointer (0-8).

Lexi Hernandez came out of the break hitting two straight three-pointers to push the Lady Saint lead to 20 points. Seward used the remainder of the quarter methodically extending their lead to a score of 65-40. Hernandez finished the quarter shooting 4 for 4 from behind the arc.

The Lady Saints came out flat in the final quarter, committing six turnovers during a six-minute scoring drought. Mounsey ended the drought by connecting on a deep three, also ending a 9-0 run by the Grizzlies. The three also started an 8-0 run over the next three minutes. The Grizzlies were able to cut the lead to 21 before the game ended, with Seward winning 74-53.

Seward County finished the game shooting 46.3 percent (25 of 54) from the floor and 45.9 percent (17 of 37) from behind the arc. The 17 three-pointers tied a season-high for the Lady Saints. The Lady Saints held Butler to 33.3 percent (18 of 54) from the floor and 18.8 percent (3 of 16) from deep.

Two Lady Saints scored in double-figures – Mounsey (24) and Hernandez (18). The 18 points is a career-high for Hernandez. In addition to Mounsey's 24 points, she also came away with a career-high 10 rebounds to achieve her first career double-double.

Seward will return home to take on Cloud County at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Greenhouse. Admission will be free for all fans thanks to game sponsor Sunflower Bank. Free tickets can be picked up at Sunflower Bank and both Liberal Hutch's locations.

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The High Plains Daily Leader and Southwest Daily Times are published Sunday through Friday and reaches homes throughout the Liberal, Kansas retail trade zone. The Leader & Times is the official newspaper of Seward County, USD No. 480, USD No. 483 and the cities of Liberal and Kismet. The Leader & Times is a member of the Liberal Chamber of Commerce, the Kansas Press Association and the Associated Press.

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